Technical Field
This invention relates to retail store fixtures, and, more specifically, to a bagging station that couples to a shopping cart.
State of the Art
A bagging station is a fixture located in a retail store that holds a stack of shopping bags, often plastic shopping bags, and dispenses these bags as they are filled with products a customer has purchased. The shopping bags are held in a manner and position such that it is easy and convenient for a person to open one bag at a time, place purchased items in the bag, and then remove the bag and the enclosed products from the bagging station. Bagging stations have traditionally been located at checkout stations where customers pay for their products, because that is where purchased items have traditionally been transferred from a shopping cart to the shopping bags. With the advent of electronic purchasing and self-checkout, however, customers are now able to pay for and bag their items as they shop, and these actions can occur at locations besides checkout stations. There is a need for bagging stations in locations in retail stores besides at the checkout station. Additionally, there is a need for a bagging station that can withstand extreme temperatures and hold bags with heavy items. This is particularly useful for use in a pickup area of a retail store.
Accordingly, what is needed is a bagging station for mounting in a shopping cart, which is durable and compact, and can hold bags with heavy items in them.